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| Emma Tannanbaum |
| Position » |
| President of Global Union |
| Year and Major » |
| Third year, Industrial
and Systems Engineering |
| Reason for Nomination » |
| As President of Global
Union this past year, he
has led numerous initiatives
to make the RIT
campus more friendly to
international students. |
What is GU, and how are you involved?
Basically, GU is an organization that was
founded about 11 years ago by an international
student. Ever since, it’s been promoting diversity
on campus. The [international enrollment]
numbers have been growing steadily every year.
So right now, we’re representing about 1500
international students and 15 different cultural
clubs. We address international student issues,
and we try to help all of them out. In my third
year, I got elected as the president of GU, and I
got re-elected [for 2008-2009].
Where are you from?
I am originally from Bombay, India. I came here
in 2005.
I understand that you swept the SG
awards banquet. What was that like?
I wouldn’t use the word ‘swept,’ but yes, I did
get a few honors at the SG awards banquet...
There were two scholarships and one award.
Basically, RLI (the RIT Leadership Institute) had
scholarships for student leaders on campus.
I applied for a few of them. There was the
Kathleen Keyes Award for service to SG. I
used to serve as the Senator for international
students and representative for GU in the Senate
for the last year...The second one was the Isaac
Jordan award for student diversity...The third
award was the Outstanding International
Service award, which I shared with another
three students. Those were the ones in the SG
banquet...It was very exciting to get those. It
was a great honor, and I’m just trying to keep
myself level and keep myself humble.
What do you see as your greatest
accomplishment as GU president?
I just feel like I’m getting to the point where I’m
the right medium between my constituency
and people who can make changes. So knowing
International Student Services quite well,
knowing Campus Life closely, knowing the office
of the Vice President of Student Affairs closely,
and working with them, helps me tell all of the
students’ problems to them. If the students are
not comfortable, it helps me to be the common
person in between...My impact has basically
been that I’m approachable, people can feel
comfortable talking to me.
What kind of problems have you faced
thus far?
The biggest problems that international
students have been facing are the housing and
transportation problems... About 60% of these
students live off campus, and many of them live
in housing complexes such as Rustic Village
and Winton Village. They need transportation
from there. They have trouble getting to and
off campus and many of them don’t even know
what’s beyond Henrietta.
I’ve also been Peer Advisor Leader, which is like
an OA for international students, for the last
two years. We saw that students who come in
have issues with airport pick-ups and issues
with housing. Some of them did not get housing
before they came in, so they had to live with
some friends as temporary accommodations.
I used to drive the Public Safety vans to the
airport every year to pick up students and that
was only one day. About 300-400 students come
every year from around the world, and I don’t
think in one day that you could pick up all of
them. So the major change that I made...was
that we’re extending that one day pick-up to
one week pick-up. We have to cater to incoming
students and the already-present international
students and at the same time also show the
rest of RIT American students what kind of
diversity exists on campus.
What improvements would you like to
make in the future?
I want to see this campus [be more friendly for
international students]. Students should feel
like they are welcome here. There are already
factors going against us, such as the weather
and the quarter system. Most of the students
come from semester system colleges and many
of them come from warm climates. If we can
do something to help them out, just to make
it so they can settle down over here, that will
actually help increase admission of international
students. Things like transportation or housing
should not be an issue when students are
coming here for higher education. These are just
the most elementary needs that students have.
If I can solve these problems before I leave, then
I think my job will be done.
What’s your favorite thing about RIT?
I think most of the people are very good to you.
When I was first coming here, I always thought,
‘How would the Americans treat me? How
will I fit in?’ ... I’m from a big city, so I didn’t
ever experience a small town environment.
Rochester and RIT and everyone over here were
kind of friendly. So I think I like the people more
than anything. It makes up for the climate.
And your least favorite?
The climate! I wish that winter was shorter.
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